[Narrator] [Picture of pigweed] The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
is testing new tactics for defeating a difficult foe. [Picture of Dr. Smith] Dr. Ken
Smith, an extension weed scientist, says herbicide-resistant pigweed has an Achilles’
heel: its short-lived seed [Picture of pigweed seeds]. Knowing that ninety-nine-plus
percent of pigweed seed will be gone at the end of four years, Smith is trying two
new directions. [Video shows a tractor tilling – deep tillage]One is deep tillage.
The deeply buried seed won’t have enough light to germinate. [Picture of a pigweed
in a cotton field – zero tolerance] Another tactic being field-tested this summer
in cotton is “zero tolerance,” where hand-hoeing and a supplemental herbicide will
kill the pigweed before it can go to seed. The tactic will eventually be tested in
soybeans as well.

[Pictures of pigweeds in a field] Smith says this represents an important shift in
thinking for farmers. Instead of trying to kill weeds when they reach a certain density
that will result in yield loss, now they’ll try to eliminate them before they make
seeds.

[Narrator] Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast is a production of the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture and was funded in part by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.
For more information on soybean farming in Arkansas contact your local county Extension
Office.